


Safe and Sound

by talentless_skill



Series: Chicago [1]
Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: AU- After College, AU- No YouTubers, But mostly fluff, Fluff, It's the closest I've gotten to a short fic so hurray for that! :D, M/M, Non-descriptive references to sex, Some dark undertones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7799890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talentless_skill/pseuds/talentless_skill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jonathan's got it pretty good, all things considered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Strudelxdoodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strudelxdoodle/gifts).



> Okay, first: this is for Strudelxdoodle because they were the one that originally made me fall in love with this pairing and I finally had some time to write a cute little fic for them like I told them I would :D (even though it took over eight months for me to get to it lmao). Thank you thank you thank you for introducing me to this honestly adorable ship <3  
> My beta is Raakxhyr on tumblr, as usual :P I honestly don't know what I'd do without them and our friendship :D Thanks for everything you do Raaky <3  
> And one last thing: I don't live in Chicago, nor have I ever visited, so I'm probably 100% inaccurate with its layout- sorry for that!

As the sunlight slowly filtered in through the open window, it chased the shadows away from the pair under warm covers, unaware as the world around them slowly came back to life. Slow, soft breaths were puffed out along bare skin with ease. A soft head of hair was tucked against a smooth shoulder as they lay tangled with each other, carefree and content.

Slowly, eyelids fluttered open to reveal startling blue eyes still hazy with sleep as rough lips parted in a sluggish yawn. The man sat up slightly as his gaze swept the room languidly before being drawn back down to the sleeping figure beneath him. The fair-haired man sighed, a lazy smile curling his slightly chapped lips as he ran gentle fingers through his messy locks of hair, wincing as he snagged a strand accidentally.

He brushed his lips against the sleeping man’s cheek affectionately, chuckling softly at the slightly furrowed brow that formed almost immediately at the touch. Untangling himself from his lover’s limbs with a practiced ease, Jonathan slipped off the side of the bed and padded over to the kitchen across the room.

Humming softly under his breath, he filled up the kettle with water before setting it over the stove, absentmindedly turning on the coffee machine as he did so. He spun around, reaching up to grab the honey off the shelf above before setting it on the counter beside him so he could use it when the water was done. He side-stepped to the right, opened the door of the fridge before crouching down to grab the eggs and butter from the bottom shelf. An amused smile snuck across his face as he saw that Ryan had once again tried to hide his stash of Capri Suns behind the orange juice, seemingly failing to remember that Jonathan went through at least three cartons of juice a week. Jonathan couldn’t remember many times that an “Ohm spot” had actually worked as his boyfriend had planned it to, although he had admittedly come up with some creative (read: insane) ways of hiding them before.  

He closed the fridge door, grabbing a pan before standing up and turning the stove on, swaying to a slow beat of an acoustic song their friend Daithi had played at his gig the night before.

 _“I am... wondering... how you... wandered in,”_ he sung under his breath, cracking the eggs against the edge of the pan so he could start frying them. _“I’m asking: are you staying? Or would you like to stay in,”_ A smile crept up his face unconsciously as he shook salt and pepper onto the eggs before turning them over, a warm feeling settling in his chest.

Although they had all given Nogla shit for all the cheesy songs he had played for Berenice last night, Jonathan still couldn’t help the warm, happy feeling seeping through his very soul as the lyrics reminded him of when he and Ryan had just met. He remembered how nervous they had been around each other, for no fucking reason as it had been clear to everyone but them how captivated they were with each other. He could remember just how Ryan’s voice had stumbled over his words when he had asked to stay for the first night, then stuttered when he asked him to move in with him, hope shining in his eyes as he asked Jonathan for forever.

Now, five years later, Jonathan couldn’t imagine being without him. They had melded their lives so seamlessly together it was a wonder that it had taken them so long to get together in the first place.

He smiled self-deprecatingly at himself - that was a fucking lie. He knew _exactly_ why it had taken them so long to trust each other (or anyone at all, for that matter). Being homeless for years on end or being bounced around shitty foster homes constantly would make anyone untrusting and it had taken them both years to overcome that fear of being alone, of being left behind and forgotten.

Even so, they hadn’t escaped without considerable physical and mental scars on them both. Ryan still couldn’t eat full meals, as the rations he had been forced to make to stay alive when he was a teenager left his stomach only a fraction of the size it should have been. Jonathan on the other hand still had panic attacks that came from nowhere, forcing him to relive the nightmares of his past, leaving him shaking and vulnerable until they released him from their icy grasp. All their lives they had been torn apart mercilessly by their fears and uncertainties, their crippling effects coming in waves that they had never thought would end.

Now they had each other to ease through the despair, to drag from their demons and surround themselves in a cocoon of warmth until there was no space left for the darkness to come crawling back to. They worked as a team, picking up where the other couldn’t and covering points of weakness from all angles. There was no Jonathan without Ryan, and no Ryan without Jonathan. They couldn’t survive without the system of love and support they gave each other, coupled with the absolute certainty that there was nothing they could say or do that would ever be “too much”.

The thought was comforting in itself; no one understood Ryan like Jonathan did, and no one knew him like Ryan showed Jonathan he did, time after time. There was a certain ownership in that which calmed the part of him who was still that lost boy, the one that yearned for someone to call his own, for a family. Luke had been the closest thing to a brother when he had stayed in North Carolina for a few years with his family. He had been moved away when social services eventually deemed Luke’s parents “unfit” to house foster kids any longer.

He had bounced around from state to state after that, no one quite wanting to house the troublesome kid with enough emotional scars to drown in. The families always said that they wanted to house “good kids” and he just didn’t fit the bill. So he had ran away as soon as he graduated high school, wanting to get as far away from “Southern hospitality” as possible (he had dealt with enough of that bullshit for a lifetime).

Eventually he had landed up in Chicago and applied to University there, starting in time for the next semester. It was how he had ended up meeting their friends, some of whom were starting late as well. Brian and Nogla had just come in from Ireland, Mini had transferred in from UCLA, and the rest had trickled in from the surrounding states the previous semester. Ryan had been the only one of them who had been from in-state, and had dragged them all over Chicago, wanting to share his city with them. Deep-dish pizza (Chicago style of course), little nook-and-cranny bookstores and everything else inbetween had taken up their free time, leaving them waiting for the next spot Ryan would show them. There was something that made every place special when Ryan’s eyes would shine with exuberant happiness, loving every single part of his life he got to share with them.

Even so, Jonathan doubted that he had gone everywhere in Chicago, although it felt like he had travelled through the entire city sometimes. It was easy to forget _just_ _how big_ cities were when he had grown up in a small town on the outskirts of the farming district in the Carolina’s. It had completely overwhelmed him the first time he had arrived, backpack hitched on his shoulder with a spitfire attitude, jaded against the world and the people in it. Chicago had made him feel small in comparison to its sprawling skyscrapers, stretching out towards the sky in hopes of something _more._

That’s what Chicago had represented to him; it had been a chance for _more than_ the glares aimed at him when they saw Jonathan the delinquent, orphaned and worthless in their eyes. Chicago was a chance to escape all of that, to get away from the delirious state of mind he had been drifting through the past few years. So he had buckled down, taking courses on psychology, math and sciences so he could go to med school after he graduated. He had wanted to become a pediatrician, to help the kids who were stuck in bad places with even worse people, because there had been no one to help stitch up his wounds but he’d be damned if he left them to deal with that shit alone.

Now, years later, his hard work had paid off; Jonathan, Daithi and Tyler had opened up their own practice just a couple of months ago on the Southside. Officially, they were for the people who didn't have the right health care to go to the hospital or more expensive practices in the upper district. Unofficially, the three of them took in kids and adults through the back door, stitching up stab and bullet wounds with a silent understanding to not ask questions. It made good money and along with the income Ryan made as school counselor and part-time therapist, they were able to pay the bills and and then a little more (although it had taken fucking _years_ to pay back their student loans).

However, every Friday night, the street kids came up to their sprawling apartment for free food and a movie, a normalcy Jonathan and Ryan were more than willing to give them, as they both knew how unpredictable and unstable life could be when you didn’t have parents to support you (whether they were dead, absent, negligent or anything inbetween). It was more than worth seeing the soft, grateful smiles on their faces when they thought no one else was looking. Not to mention that they loved Buddy, Ryan’s Jack Russell Terrier and Delilah, a pitbull mix that Jonathan had picked up on the road after tailing it out of The South. Buddy was thirteen now and unable to play with the kids, though they didn’t mind cuddling around him instead, surrounding themselves in warm affection in any way they could. Delilah, on the other hand, bathed in the playful attention they gave her, licking their faces enthusiastically to show her appreciation, her tail wagging excitedly behind her.

Jonathan looked over to where Delilah lay in her dog bed, her head resting between her paws. When she noticed him looking at her she sat up, tail wagging happily as her tongue rolled out of her open mouth in the semblance of a grin. Jonathan served the eggs onto plates he had laid out on the kitchen table, buttering the toast before putting it on as well. He absentmindedly grabbed the juice out of the fridge, scratching the top of Delilah’s head fondly as he passed.

He walked back into their bedroom and stopped short when he noticed that Buddy had taken the chance to cuddle up to Ryan during his absence. It was no secret to anyone (no matter how much his idiot of a boyfriend often tried to protest otherwise) just how big of a cuddler Ryan was. Buddy had clearly taken advantage of that, if his position from his encasement within Ryan’s arms was any testament. Buddy raised his head, blinking slowly at Jonathan once in a smug greeting before burrowing further into Ryan’s messy head of dark hair.

Rolling his eyes in fond exasperation at the stubborn Jack Russell terrier, Jonathan threw his hands up in the air, muttering a petulant “Fine! You win!” as he turned on the spot, heading back towards the kitchen. He resigned himself to the fact that his near-nocturnal boyfriend wouldn't be up before noon at best and went to set the food in the fridge so it wouldn't spoil.

He might as well take advantage of the literal puppy pile before he had to face his actual responsibilities as an adult, right? He knew Delilah wouldn't mind, for one. He gave her a pointed look and sighed, giving into her silent begging. She jumped up immediately, bursting past him in greeting as she made a beeline for their bed, leaping onto it with ease. Jonathan grumbled, completely exasperated as he saw his girl’s smug expression from her curled-up position on the duvet- he spoiled her, he really did.

He pulled back the covers and climbed back into bed, throwing and arm back over Ryan so his fingertips rested on his boyfriend’s bare stomach. Ryan shivered at the light touch, his muscles clenching even in sleep and Jonathan smirked, unable to contain his glee at the reaction. No matter the situation, Jonathan had always been able to get his boyfriend worked up in the very _best_ of ways (for Jonathan, at least- Ryan had gone to work indecently more times than he could remember).

He let his palm lay flat this time, his thumb stroking up and down the smooth skin in a slow, rhythmic fashion. Jonathan pressed himself closer to Ryan, his front moulded against the the dark haired man’s back.  He turned his face with a soft exhale, his cheek pressing against the comforting warmth radiating out from his lover’s skin.

Jonathan basked in the guiltless feeling of _belonging_ , of having somewhere- _someone_ to call home. His pain, loss and confusion had all but retreated in the face of Ryan’s quiet affections and he could never get enough of it. Jonathan was addicted to the way Ryan held him; his touch was filled with steadfast warmth and commitment, wrapping Jonathan in tendrils of understanding and loving even with the demons branded on his soul. Ryan always held him tightly as he dared, as if he was afraid that if he let go, he would lose Jonathan altogether. He loved the way Ryan’s fingers dig into the jut of his hips, desperate and _wrecked_ , his pupils blown wide as he pounded into him, flush and _real_ under the cover of the darkening sky. The way Ryan claimed him, murmuring obscenities lowly into his ear, just because he knew it made Jonathan rock back into him just a little bit harder, a little bit faster, a little bit _more,_ made him melt a little bit inside (and yeah, Jonathan could admit that was some real cheesy shit but he didn’t care) _._ Jonathan was enraptured with everything Ryan was, pure and simple. 

There was no coming back from this, nothing that could ever make him turn back and it felt really fucking good to know that of all things he’s had, this was one thing that he would never lose. Ryan was his dork of boyfriend, complete with hazel eyes, messy hair and hipster-glasses (although he tried to protest otherwise, they were hipster as fuck and Jonathan would never let him live it down- _never_ ). Ryan was… _everything_ to him, cheesiness aside. He was the epitome of everything Jonathan had hoped he would have, but never dared to think he could. Someone who he’d never let go.

And so what? Jonathan might be biased when it came to his partner, but Ryan was so fucking inherently _good_ that it didn’t even matter. Ryan deserved this, deserved _everything_ and if it took him forever to show him that, well, Jonathan wasn’t complaining- they had more than enough time.

But for now, he was going to lay there a little while longer, soaking in every bit of Ryan’s easy-given love that he could. Jonathan smiled softly, completely content, and let sleep overtake him once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Song that Jonathan sings briefly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wrLVtaFyw


End file.
